There is no way to fix the legislation, which "makes us all suspects," said Pamela Palmater, chair in indigenous governance at Toronto's Ryerson University.

"The terrorists will have won," Palmater said Tuesday during a meeting of the House of Commons public safety committee, which is hearing more than 50 witnesses on the bill.

"And what is terrorism? Fundamentally, it's the denial of life, liberty and security of the person. If Canada goes ahead and takes those rights away, terrorists just have to sit back: job done."

The Conservatives brought in the 62-page bill following the murders of two Canadian soldiers just days apart last October by men whose motives were rooted in extremist thinking.

The legislation would give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service the ability to actively disrupt terror plots, make it easier for police to limit the movements of a suspect, expand no-fly list powers, crack down on extremist propaganda and dismantle barriers to exchanging security-related information.

Neither the new disruptive powers nor the information-sharing provisions apply to "lawful" advocacy, protest and dissent, but some critics say these elements of the bill could be used against aboriginal and environmental activists who protest outside the letter of the law.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay categorically rejected Palmater's view.

"Doing nothing is making terrorism win, and so it's incumbent upon any government to protect its population and to take actions to do so," MacKay said after question period.

"We believe this is consistent with what our allies have done."

During her testimony, Palmater recounted how she is already routinely tracked by federal agencies that keep tabs on her involvement in aboriginal issues.

Conservative MP Diane Ablonczy stressed that "jihadi terrorists have declared war on Canada," and she tried to dispel any notion the bill would be used to target legitimate dissent.

The bill "isn't really about terrorism," but about preserving economic and power relations in Canada, Palmater said.

Citizens have worked too hard to create treaties, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and international laws that protect basic human rights to toss it all away "because we wanted to protect some corporate economic interests," she added.

Her arguments were echoed by Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, who said the bill would dangerously expand powers of Canada's security agencies without making people any safer.

Phillip, who also called for the withdrawal of the legislation, accused the Harper government of retooling its policy-making efforts to foster natural-resource extraction.

He said the bill was about increasing the output of the Alberta oilsands and supporting the oil-pipeline agenda.

Former public servant Robert Morrison, who led a now-defunct information-sharing initiative at the Treasury Board before he retired, said a pilot project on border security persuaded him officials were not exchanging data to the degree they could.

The federal bill will support sharing in a manner consistent with charter and privacy rights, allowing officials to piece together disparate bits of information, he told MPs.

Intelligence historian Wesley Wark, who teaches at the University of Ottawa, said there are unanswered questions about the plan to give CSIS new disruption powers.

The bill contemplates allowing the spy service to use clandestine methods to derail plots — from altering a website or cancelling an airline reservation or even more drastic actions.

CSIS already engages in some forms of disruption, but it's not clear if the spy service has implemented watchdog recommendations on using the tactic, Wark told the committee.

Disruption should be focused on Canadian suspects overseas under appropriate controls, he added.

The bill is missing greater accountability measures, does not address Canada's threat-assessment capabilities and fails to clarify the role of the government's electronic spy agency, the Communications Security Establishment, he said.

Wark believes the CSE will be "deeply engaged" by various provisions of the bill that will see it help other agencies collect information at home and abroad. Yet the legislation underpinning the organization has been in need of an update for many years, he said.

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5 Things To Know About The Anti-Terror Law

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Here are 5 things you need to know about Bill C-51, the Harper government's controversial anti-terror law.
(Information courtesy of The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service gets new powers to actively disrupt terrorism plots, instead of just collecting information about them. CSIS needs "reasonable grounds to believe'' there was a security threat before taking measures to disrupt it and needs a court warrant whenever proposed disruption measures violate the Charter of Rights or otherwise breach Canadian law.

The spy agency is allowed to wage cyberwar, by disrupting radical websites and Twitter accounts aimed at impressionable young Canadians. The RCMP is allowed to seek a judge's order to remove terrorist propaganda from the Internet.

The new law makes it easier for the RCMP to obtain a peace bond, a legal tool that could order suspects to surrender passports or report to police regularly. In the past, the Mounties had to hold a reasonable belief that someone "will commit" a terrorism offence before they could get such a bond. Now, the threshold is a fear that someone "may commit'' an offence.

The legislation expands the no-fly regime to cover those who seek to travel by air to take part in terrorist activities, allowing authorities to keep would-be extremists off planes. Under current law, that can only be done to counter an immediate risk to the aircraft.

The legislation makes it a criminal offence to encourage someone to carry out a terrorism attack. It also allows police to arrest someone without a warrant and hold them for up to seven days before a hearing. That's up from the three-day maximum under current law.

Police secure an area around Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 22, 2014.

A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot by an unknown gunman and people reported hearing gunfire inside the halls of Parliament.

Paramedics and police pull a shooting victim away from the Canadian War Memorial in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. A Canadian soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa has been shot by an unknown gunman and there are reports of gunfire inside the halls of Parliament.

An RCMP intervention team runs next to a Parliament building in Ottawa Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. A Canadian soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa has been shot by an unknown gunman and there are reports of gunfire inside the halls of Parliament.

RCMP intervention team members walk past a gate on Parliament hill in Ottawa.

A soldier, police and paramedics tend to a soldier shot at the National Memorial near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014.

Police secure an area around Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. A gunman opened fire at the National War Memorial, wounding a soldier, then moved to nearby Parliament Hill and wounded a security guard before he was shot, reportedly by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms.

Police secure an area around Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. A gunman opened fire at the National War Memorial, wounding a soldier, then moved to nearby Parliament Hill and wounded a security guard before he was shot, reportedly by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms.

Police and paramedics tend to a soldier shot at the National Memorial near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. Police are expanding a perimeter around Parliament Hill after a gunman opened fire at the National War Memorial, wounding a soldier, then moved to nearby Parliament Hill where he was reportedly shot by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms after wounding a security guard.

Civilians leave a secured area around Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. Police are expanding a perimeter around Parliament Hill after a gunman opened fire at the National War Memorial, wounding a soldier, then moved to nearby Parliament Hill where he was reportedly shot by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms after wounding a security guard.The Hill remains under lockdown amid reports there may be two to three shooters, according to a senior official locked in the Official Opposition Leaders' office.

Police teams move towards Centre Block at Parliament Hill in Ottawa on on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. A gunman opened fire at the National War Memorial, wounding a soldier, then moved to nearby Parliament Hill and wounded a security guard before he was shot, reportedly by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms.

An Ottawa police office draws her weapon in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. Police are expanding a security perimeter in the heart of the national capital after a gunman opened fire and wounded a soldier at the National War Memorial before injuring a security guard on Parliament Hill, where he was reportedly shot dead by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms.

An Ottawa police officer runs with his weapon drawn in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014.Police are expanding a security perimeter in the heart of the national capital after a gunman opened fire and wounded a soldier at the National War Memorial before injuring a security guard on Parliament Hill, where he was reportedly shot dead by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms.

People under lockdown look out of an office building near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. A gunman opened fire at the National War Memorial, wounding a soldier, then moved to nearby Parliament Hill and wounded a security guard before he was shot, reportedly by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms.

Police search cars and pedestrians as they leave the Alexandra Bridge and enter Gatineau, Que. near the Parliament Buildings during an active shooter situation in Ottawa on Wednesday, October 22, 2014.

Police officers take cover in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014.Police are expanding a security perimeter in the heart of the national capital after a gunman opened fire and wounded a soldier at the National War Memorial before injuring a security guard on Parliament Hill, where he was reportedly shot dead by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms.

Traiffic is stopped below Parliament Hill during a lock down in the downtown core of Ottawa after a member of the Canadian Armed Forces was shot in Ottawa, Wednesday October 22, 2014.